Information | Environmental Action Team
Waste Management is a proud environmental partner of the Buffalo Grove Park District.
Upcoming Meetings and Events
The Buffalo Grove Park District's Environmental Action Team is hosting a community volunteer event with Boy Scout Troop 140 at Mike Rylko Community Park on Saturday, October 26th from 9 am until noon. There will be a park clean-up as well as seed collecting for future plantings in the park. We will meet on the Deerfield Parkway parking lot near the Buffalo Grove Fitness Center. Please contact Martha Weiss at mweiss@bgparks.org if you would like to volunteer, or just plan on being there.
Click here for the September 25, 2013 meeting agenda.
Mission Statement
The Environmental Action Team of Buffalo Grove strives to raise awareness, improve our community’s natural environment and encourage sustainability practices for present and future generations.
Launch of floating island at Green Lake Park also launched BGEAT in 2008
Buffalo Grove is in the center of Chicago Wilderness, an area surprisingly rich in diversity and native species. Would you like to improve our local environment and meet other people with similar interests?
If so, join the Buffalo Grove Park District Environmental Action Team. We launched a floating island on Green Lake which will filter out pollutants to improve water quality and become a haven for native wetland plants and wildlife. Other ideas to improve the environment in Buffalo Grove just need your help in order to be realized.
If you have questions, please contact Jeff Weiss at environmental@bgpkr.org or (847) 224-0965.
Electronics Recycling
BGEAT has sponsored annual electronics recycling events, collecting and responsibly recycling over 50 tons of used computers, cell phones and other electronic equipment to date. We also instituted a successful recycling program at Buffalo Grove Days, our community’s annual fall festival.
Habitat Restoration Project at Mike Rylko Community Park
BGEAT works with the Buffalo Grove Park District to restore habitat at Buffalo Grove’s largest park in order to create a healthier home for our native plants and animals. We remove litter and invasive plants, and plant native species to improve biodiversity.
History of the Buffalo Grove Environmental Action Team (BGEAT)
Fall 2012
We were active in fall. Our projects included another successful electronics/paper recycling event, a road cleanup, and native seed collecting and cleaning. We are poised to carry momentum into 2013 to make our local environment healthier and more sustainable.
Debi, Moritz, a founding member of BG EAT, was honored as Champion of the Environment, by the Village of Buffalo Grove. Debi is also an active member of the Buffalo Creek Clean Water Partnership. Congratulations, Debi!
Summer 2012
The first Buffalo Grove Green Fair was a rousing success. Hundreds of attendees visited 19 exhibitors who displayed a wide variety of environmentally friendly programs and services.
Spring 2012
The first meeting of the Buffalo Creek Clean Water Partnership attracted nearly 60 attendees. Learn more at buffalocreekcleanwater.org.
BGEAT helped initiate, plan and promote the successful campaign for energy aggregation. We are proud to report that 100% of the energy purchased under this program comes from green energy sources.
Winter 2011-12
Steve White, founding member of BGEAT, was named the first Champion of the Environment by the Village of Buffalo Grove.
BGEAT was embraced as a partner in the Village of Buffalo Grove Environmental Plan. We are working with the Village and Park District on a range of activities.
- Planning a Greenfest in conjunction with the Buffalo Grove Farmers Market for June.
- Launching a new watershed management group, the Buffalo Creek Clean Water Partnership, BuffaloCreekCleanWater.org
- Planning an exhibit at the Raupp Museum called The Lost Prairie.
- Promoting energy conservation and use of alternative energy in our community.
- Selling rain barrels to promote wise water usage.
- Investigating options for community composting and other ideas to reduce, reuse and recycle.
- We received our first grant for stream cleanup at Mike Rylko Community Park, where we plan to continue to restore natural areas.
Fall 2011
Recycling at Buffalo Grove Days becomes a reality! The Village and Buffalo Grove Days committee implement a successful solution to promote recycling by attaching recycling bins to the waste toters, making the recycling option obvious to guests and simple for cleanup crews.
- Another successful electronics recycling event at a new location.
- Road cleanup becomes quick and easy due to prior removal of larger trash items
Summer 2011
This year’s bicycle drive raised nearly 100 bikes for Working Bikes Cooperative.
- BGEAT continued to make new friends at the Farmers Market, National Night Out and BG Days.
Spring 2011 - BGEAT sponsored several workdays at Mike Rylko Community Park to remove brush, clean up stream banks and plant hundreds of native plants in the woodlands and wetlands.
Winter 2010/11
We met Village officials at the Waste Management recycling facility in Grayslake and got insight on our local recycling and landfill issues. Remove caps before recycling bottles and when in doubt, recycle.
Fall 2010
We had our busiest month by far in October! We sponsored 4 events.
- Bike Event for the Global Work Party on 10/10/10 inspired by 350.org. A range of exhibits plus 60 bikes donated to Working Bikes Cooperative highlighted what we can do to reduce greenhouse gases and get fit.
- Electronics recycling at Siemens. 45-50,000 pounds of hardware was collected on a rainy Saturday. Based on this success, Siemens will host similar events in the future.
- Adopt-A-Highway road cleanup. Deerfield Road is once again an attractive roadway that highlights our local environment.
- Habitat restoration. We planted several trays of prairie plants in our adopted area near the Buffalo Grove Fitness Center. More work is planned for spring, 2011.
Summer 2010
We organized festival-wide recycling initiative at Buffalo Grove Days. We are pleased to report that 2 dumpsters of recycled cans, bottles, and paper were collected. The Environmental Action Team is committed to having an even greater impact at the 2011 BG Days.
- BGEAT submitted a position paper in support of proposed work to be done to improve water quality and habitat along Aspen Creek and at the Buffalo Creek Nature Preserve. Environmental Action Team members came out in force at the public meeting to present our position paper and offer assistance to the Village.
- We exhibited at the inaugural Buffalo Grove Farmers Market and National Night Out. Jeff Weiss was presented the 2010 Best Friend award by the Friends of the Parks Foundation on behalf of the Environmental Action Team.
Spring 2010
Two workdays were held at Mike Rylko Community Park, where we removed invasive plants and installed native plant plugs in the swale south of the Buffalo Grove Fitness Center.
We launched our Adopt-A-Highway program. We gather twice a year to clean up a designated section of Deerfield Parkway. Please contact Linda Spitz lindasu4@aol.com for more information.
Winter 2009/10
BGEAT’s holiday pot luck dinner, hosted by Susan Levy, has become a winter tradition.
Fall 2009
Steve White conducted an energy audit of the lighting at the Alcott Center. A subsequent Smart Energy Design Assistance Center (SEDAC) review confirmed Steve’s findings and found other energy savings opportunities at the Alcott Center. New lighting was implemented at some Buffalo Grove Park District facilities, resulting in significant energy reduction and savings.
September 2009
The first Environmental Action Team informational booth at BG Days. We collected recyclables at our booth.
June 2009 - Thirty volunteers came out for our first workday at Busch Grove Community Park (now Mike Rylko Community Park). We removed brush and garlic mustard in the woodland across from the Buffalo Grove Fitness Center, and planted plugs of native plants. Members were filmed and interviewed for the video submitted by the Park District as part of their application for the National Recreation and Park Association Gold Medal Award.
June 2009
Thirty volunteers came out for our first workday at Busch Grove Community Park (now Mike Rylko Community Park). We removed brush and garlic mustard in the woodland across from the Buffalo Grove Fitness Center, and planted plugs of native plants. Members were filmed and interviewed for the video submitted by the Park District as part of their application for the National Recreation and Park Association Gold Medal Award.
April 25, 2009
Electronics recycling event. We recruited more than 20 volunteers and collected 5 tons of computers and peripherals. A group of disabled youth collected cell phones and game consoles for resale on eBay. We also had table exhibits about rain barrels and community-supported agriculture.
February 19, 2009
The first meeting of the Buffalo Grove Environmental Action Team. We brainstormed 12 projects to work on, and started planning our first project, an electronics recycling event.
Meeting Minutes
Click here to view the minutes of the August 15, 2013 meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the June 27, 2013 meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the May 22, 2013 meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the April 17, 2013 meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the March 7, 2013 meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the December 4, 2012 meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the October 16, 2012 meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the August 16, 2012 meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the June 7, 2012 meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the May 17, 2012 meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the April 19, 2012 meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the March 8, 2012 meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the November 3, 2011 meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the September 22, 2011 meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the August 25, 2011 meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the April 5, 2011 meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the March 1, 2011 meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the December 2, 2010 meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the November 2, 2010 meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the September 30, 2010 meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the August 26, 2010 meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the July 27, 2010 meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the June 24, 2010 meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the April 29, 2010 meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the April 1, 2010 meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the February 25, 2010 meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the November 19, 2009 meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the October 15, 2009 meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the August 20, 2009 meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the May 14, 2009 meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the April 16, 2009 meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the March 19, 2009 meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the February 19, 2009 meeting.